The Dani Awards Presented by STX: Player of the Year, Coach of the Year

Welcome to the second annual Dani Awards. Started after the 2011 season, the Dani Awards were Inside Lacrosse's first ever women's postseason awards and now have their own home on ILWomen.com. Thanks to STX, they're back for a second season. Over the next two weeks, the Dani Awards will be presented to everything from Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Team of the Year and more. We'll throw in a day for Division II and III awards and maybe even get a "Call Me Maybe" award in there. Here's what to expect over the next 14 days:

We definitely want your thoughts and feedback throughout the Dani Awards so feel free to shoot me an email with any comments you have or let us know what you think in the Facebook commenting below or on Twitter.

The Dani's make their way back to the Division I ranks with the award for player and coach of the year.

Player of the Year

Taylor Thornton, Midfield/Defense, Northwestern
The consummate two-way player, Taylor Thornton did it all for the Wildcats in 2012. She finished tied for fourth on the team with 33 goals and had the team's best shooting percentage, finishing on 63 percent of her shots. Where Thornton was even more valuable was on the defensive end and through the midfield where her blazing speed, which is nearly unmatched in the Division I ranks, sparked the Northwestern fastbreak. She was consistently tasked with shutting down the opposing team's top midfielder and was also a huge part of the draw. She finished with 71 draw controls on the season, second only to Alyssa Leonard, the draw specialist for the Wildcats. Thornton shined in the NCAA championships, scoring two goals and reeling in seven draw controls in the semifinals against Maryland and scoring a goal and pulling in a draw in the championship game. Thornton was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy and won the Honda Sports Award.

Coach of the Year

Mandee O'Leary, Florida
What the Gators have accomplished in just three seasons as a program is truly remarkable and Florida just continues to get better, topping last year's quarterfinal appearance with the program's first trip to Championship Weekend in 2012. Florida finished 19-3 and boasted the best defense in Division I, allowing an average of 6.55 goals per game. Under O'Leary, the Gators have not only had team success, but individual success. Brittany Dashiell was the program's first Tewaaraton finalist this season and the Gators had three players earn first-team All-America honors — Dashiell, defender Sam Farrell and goalie Mikey Meagher.